“It was a difficult match against a very good Nantes team,” Nice midfielder Eric Bautheac said after their 2-0 win. “We finished 2013 well and have started 2014 well, which is good because it’s the end of our bad run of results. We’ve started the year in perfect fashion and have put our problems behind us.”

Monaco’s Colombian striker Radamel Falcao canceled out a first-minute strike by Hendrick Cakin 60 seconds later, only for the hosts to move ahead again nine minutes before halftime through 21-year-old French striker Yannick Aguemon.

Falcao’s compatriot James Rodriguez tied the match just before the break, before Belgian midfielder Ferreira Carrasco avoided extra-time and a potentially embarrassing exit with the winning goal for the Ligue 1 high-flyers four minutes from the conclusion of a spirited tie.

Monaco took a squad assembled for a budget of 130 million euros (US$177 million) to the west of France for a fixture against a Vannes outfit put together for just 3 million euros.

In the final match of the weekend, Olympique de Marseille needed extra-time goals from Pierre-Andre Gignac to see off the challenge of Stade de Reims 2-0 at the Stade Velodrome.

A tight match on the south coast was broken open by 94th-minute and 115th-minute strikes by Gignac.